Moving Forward
by The Dark Shepard
Summary: A few months after the end of the State v Vera Misham, Phoenix Wright has retaken the bar and returned to the world of the courts as an attorney again. Follow him as he takes new cases, reunites with old friends and enemies, and meets many more exciting new people!


Disclaimer: I do not own Phoenix Wright or any of its characters. Otherwise Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney would not exist and I wouldn't be writing fanfiction for the series!

**Return of the Turnabout: Prologue**

Time: ?

Date: ?

Location: ?

_"It is time..my orders for you are clear. The fallen prosecutor must die tonight. Consider this an initiation into our..circle of trust. It will prove your worth, your knowledge, and your preparedness for this world of crime." _

December 26, 2026. 4:08 PM

Visitation Room, Detention Center

The woman walked into the visiting room and sat down at the end of the visitor's role and set down the tray she was carrying at the table from where she would meet the inmate she was anxious to see. It had been almost an entire month since she had last seen him, due to her responsibilities to her family. She looked around the visiting chambers to see who else was visiting the prison this Boxing Day. She could only see one other smaller table filled on the far end of the visitor's room. Two people sat there: someone she could not see clearly due to the large jacket and hat they were wearing and an inmate with blonde hair and glasses that looked vaguely familiar to her. _Perhaps his case was on the news recently? _she wondered to herself.

The visitor's room itself was a relatively new creation. For most of the prison's history, visits could only take place with a glass window, with no physical interaction between the prisoner and his or her visitor. However, a few years ago, it was ruled that in the interest of the rights of prisoners that there did not need to be a separation between them and those they were close to. After all, security was very high in the prison, so it was not as if they had to fear a crime happening, and if by some chance something did happen, guards would be all over them in seconds. This is why she was able to bring in her special...gift that she had begin bringing since this had happened.

She heard a door open on the end of the room where the prison cells were located and out came a prison guard...and the man she was waiting to see. She was still not used to seeing him in prisoner's garb as opposed to his snazzy suit, even though it had been almost 8 years since his conviction. His most notable feature was still there, of course, given it was necessary for his sight: his mask. Three red lights looked down at her. He was a rather tall man, and she very short, even by female standards. He gave her a winning smirk as he sat down.

"It's been awhile, hasn't it Kitten?" said Godot..._Mr. Armando_, she had to remind herself. She still thought of him as the prosecutor who had made sure to come check on her after the end of the trial in which she was an accomplice as opposed to the broken defense attorney that it turned out he really was. Even now, she couldn't imagine Diego Armando without the Godot persona.

"It has Mr. Armando...I'm sorry. You know how families are around holidays. So many...bodies...to warm by the fire...hee...hee...hee." she replied, her tone making it obvious she had no enjoyment this past month.

"I see. I never had much family to spend holidays with. My only family I ever had..was killed while I was in a coma. Of course, every family has skeletons in their closet. Yours especially...I thought you had no want to be with them, Ms. Cadaverini?" was the questioning reply.

"What I want...has no meaning to my grandfather. He claims to love me...yet won't let me go. It is a...suffocating rope he keeps me on...hee...hee" Viola answered.

"I see...you are the bird stuck in the nest. Your grandfather has to let you loosen your wings and fly free" commented Diego.

"That sounds...wonderful, doesn't it? But we both know this will never happen. I can only...go against him in my own small rebellions. Seeing you, for instance. Speaking of which, I made you my...special coffee...hehehe. I'm surprised you didn't grab it when you first saw it!" she finished, trying to change the subject off her family.

Diego grinned his most genuine smiles that she had seen this visit and grabbed his cup. This made her happy on two levels. Most importantly, of course, is the fact that he still enjoyed her special brew..that she could still make someone happy on her own merits. He was the only person which she was sure that actually appreciated and cared about her because of herself...not who she was or who she was related to. She had been taken advantage of once based on this..and helped commit a horrendously evil crime due to this. She had vowed to never let anything like that happen again..to never be a part of the evil that her family took part in. Yet she still could not fully escape it. Her grandfather would not allow it. Here was the second reason she was glad for the distraction. Her family was not a topic she wanted to discuss with him. Not with what had just come up in her most recent "chat" with her grandfather.

She grabbed the milk she had brought and poured it into her own cup of coffee. She had an inner laugh at how Diego must view her still drinking her coffee with milk even when he had tried to convert her into his 17 cups of black coffee a day craze. That had as much a chance of happening as she escaping her family's clutches. She sighed again and got it off her mind as they got to some small talk. She took a sip of the coffee...it tasted different for some reason today.

"So I read Wright proved his innocence in the case of forging evidence...after seven years in one of the most insane cases I have seen, all while implementing a new legal system? That could not have been on his own...still it's good to see that Mia's protege did not turn out as bad as I had thought. I may have to retire the Trite nickname for good!" Diego said, referencing the trial of Vera Misham that had gotten so much publicity, even in the prisons which were supposed to be closed from the outside world.

"Yes he has...one could say that Mr. Gavin was...roasted beyond all hope of survival...hee...hee...hee. I also heard Mr. Wright just recently took the bar again and succeeded, so he is coming back to court" she replied.

"That is good...he can "earn" the forgiveness of the nation. Regain his image. Even if that never meant anything to him. Still, him being allowed back can only be good for the justice system. No one cares more for their clients than him, and in a world in which the system is stacked against them..that is important. He and his other attorney friends really changed how the trials work. So it will be interesting to see if that continues. I just hope he hasn't become too cynical. I wish him the best either way...Mia would be proud of him for not having given up," Armando said, and Viola got the usual pang of jealous she got when she heard of this woman. She was his first true love, and she knew she would never match up to her in his mind, no matter how much he tried to hide it.

They continued to talk for a few more minutes, and then Viola realized visiting hours were coming to a close and knew she had to tell him the most recent development.

"Mr Armando...my grandfather talked to me the other day. He said I wasn't allowed to visit you anymore..he threatened me," she told him.

"And your plan is to listen to this?" Diego asked.

"No, you know I wouldn't do that. Talking to you is the highlight of my day...but I can't guarantee what he'll do to make it more difficult for me. He always gets what he wants after all. I will have to do something about this," she said, sighing.

"You'll be fine Kitten, remember.." and then Diego started gagging before collapsing to the floor!

Viola screamed and dropped down next to him, begging him to stay with her. _No...this can't happen. He can't leave me! I was just starting to figure out how to move forward in my life! And I wanted to find some way to have him with me! _she thought as she cried into his quickly cooling chest and guards swarmed over her.

No one noticed the man from the table slip something onto the abandoned tray on the table.

**A/N: **So here we go! I hope this was an interesting prologue for Phoenix's first case back, and one that will affect him deeply!

This is my first foray into Phoenix Wright fanfiction(or really..into any serious fanfiction at all) so please leave some constructive criticism! This is unbetad, so any and all mistakes are mine

As for the Godot/Viola relationship..it just happened to come to me at one point. I thought it was interesting...he would certainly appreciate her "specially made" coffee! I'll be doing some flashbacks in regard to this relationship(and of course, flashbacks for future cases as well)

Don't know how quickly I will work, especially with finals right around the corner, but I plan on the chapters being a little longer than this normally.


End file.
